HIGH COST OF LIVING

[pm5]

As the general cost of living has increased dramatically over the past year, are the IP's taking this into account when it comes to reviews, will they give us extra allowances for food, energy & fuel costs because everyone is affected by all these high costs.
The worry is that it may end up with quite a lot of IVA's failing.

[TheMatrix]

I would hope they take this all into account at reviews. Will be keeping receipts just in case though

[pm5]

We should'nt have to keep reciepts really should we, the extra costs are there to be seen by everyone

[kallis3]

I think that as long as you can prove the extra expenditure when you have your review, i.e. with receipts etc., they do take them into account.

They obviously know how these things are going up as they have to pay them themselves.

[TheMatrix]

Depends on your IP I would guess, some ask for receipts if there is a big increase in payments. But really they should be aware that everything is going up anyway.

[pm5]

Yeah too right, I mean only on the news last week they was saying that gas & electris may go up 40% this winter, frightening.

[kallis3]

I suppose they want to make sure that you are still incurring the same expenses. You may be car sharing now to get to work, so your petrol money will be less. Any number of other things can have altered, so they need to see that you are justified in leaving your payments as they are.

[luluj]

We've just filled in our I&E and over the last few weeks I have cut backon our weekly shop so that I could save a little for our week away in October - problem is they have asked for receipts for the last month so now it appears that I can manage our food shop on £50 less per month than our current I&E........luckily I noticed this before I sent it off, and my sister had receipts for her shopping with totalled our monthly allowed amount (plus a little for inflation) - so we photocopied her receipts instead!

[kallis3]

Naughty, naughty Lulu!!!!!!!!!!!

I shall have to remember that one when it comes to mine!!!!!!

[luluj]

just make sure the receipts have been paid for in cash! and not via a credit card.....otherwise questions will be asked! I wouldn't normally do things like this, but there is no way we can live permanently on the £50 a week I have managed todo so for a few weeks - we have lived without some standards things in life and also on smart price or value items .....sometimes you do have to have a bit of quality!

[indebtforever]

i would advise keeping pertol reciepts because this one will go up more than 10% in all our reviews as for the others i would hope its common sense from the ip`s and as for kallis informing them of car sharing well [:0]

[luluj]

The way things are going 10% will soon be 20% - I filled both our cars up to day and it cost nearly £120 ....... we need both cars for work as one works 20 miles away and the other 40 miles away - both in different directions - both start work prior to public transport times, and anyway no train or buses going to my place of work!

[indebtforever]

i would think the payrises we get this year wont cover the extra expense we are paying so i would hope not many will be crippled with extra monthly payments to iva`s but some of them want blood [V]

[luluj]

I know our payrises will only just cover the extra fuel costs - nothing else ! I am awaiting review of our I&E so will be interested to see what comes from it!

[kallis3]

I didn't say I would do that, but if you do car share, then you don't have that many receipts to show do you?

We filled our car up a couple of weeks ago and now keep it topped up with £20 per week and try not to do any more miles than we have to.

According to the news, petrol could rise to £2.00 a litre by the end of the year! I will be well and truly stuffed if that happens.
Think I'll just take a sleeping bag in with me and stay at work! Start work before the buses by me and no trains at that time either!

Woe is me![:(][:(]